CD Reviews

A LOST JEWEL (TILL NOW)

joaquim57 | MILANO Italy | 01/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"GANDHARVA (meaning: ancient India lesser gods of music or celestial musicians) is an old recording session (1971) involving West Coast people like Gerry Mulligan (RIP), Mike Bloomfield and the two authors. I firstly got it by chance in mysterious ways circa 1975 (on vinyl, needless to say) and I was shocked since the first time I played it: it's a real aural/mystical experience! It had been recorded in a cathedral and this feature would forever make it a special music. Get it, you'll never regret for spending few bucks for such a enlightening experience! Now finally it 's been rereleased on CD coupled w/ their second album A WILD SANCTUARY and we all can enjoy these lost jewels. For all those who like : new age, soft jazz, blues, gospel and psychedelia (all at top level)! But it will be loved by anyone...."

The Foundation of Electronic Music & Production

John Rempel | Syros, Greece | 01/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause were using synthesizers to produce acoustic sound when other lesser artists were making 'cute noises'. You've heard these guys already storming with the Doors, but these two albums show their musical as well as effects skills. No collection of electronic music is complete without these. I await the day their final album, 'All Good Men', is re-released."

The Return of A Past Favorite

Dave Waddell | Lake Forest Park, WA United States | 11/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a teenager in the late 60s & early 70s, I was starting to get hooked on both the psychedelic music from San Francisco and jazz from nearby Detroit and Chicago. I picked up Gandharva for the cover art and because I saw it had both Mike Bloomfield and Gerry Mulligan on it as well as the two best back-up singers of the day, Patrice Holloway and Clydie King.What hooked me were the ethereal organ-backed tunes from the Grace Cathedral. They were my songtrack for going to sleep for months until I found "In a Silent Way" by Miles Davis. The Grace Cathedral tracks alone are worth the purchase of this CD by two synthesizer pioneers. I'd give it 5 stars if the rest of the recordings were at the same remarkable level. Though they're not, they still are very listenable and several are terrific, especially the terrific vocals on "Walkin'""

Jazz performed in a Cathedral

D. F Macy | Peterborough, NH USA | 04/18/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard of Beaver & Krause when I received a 33 LP Record of them in 1971. All the music was performed by placing instruments in several balconies above the Hammond B3 on the floor. They used no special effects or reverb. The openess and ambience of the Cathredal provided all that and the resulting sound was etheral. The tracks recorded in this fashion are: 11. Saga Of The Blue Beaver 12. Nine Moons In Alaska 13. Walkin' 14. Walkin' By The River 15. Gandharva 16. By Your Grace and 18. Short Film For David. It is probably the finest Soft Jazz album I have ever owned and I highly recommend this CD to lovers of great Jazz, even if you only buy it for the Cathedral numbers."

A Quest Fulfilled

D. Riemer | Morris County, NJ | 10/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Buy this CD. Just buy it.

Now here it is, my little story about "Gandharva...."

One night back in 1977, I was home in my dinky apartment in the Jersey suburbs, listening to what was then THE rock station in the New York City area: WNEW-FM. Allison Steele was at the microphone. Allison covered the 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM slot. She had voice like dark blue velvet, and played what we used to call "head music." Today, folks would probably call it space music. It was music that was transporting, music that took you somewhere else.

And so she plays this tune.... expectant, wistful sounds of pipe organ, saxophone, flute and harp, with a deep, generous echo, like it was recorded inside a church (it was). Everything around me just stopped. I had never heard anything even remotely like this. When it was over, Allison identified the band as Beaver and Krause, a track called By Your Grace from their record Gandharva. Now, I knew Beaver and Krause, and had a couple of their records. I liked them. But this track was on a whole new level.

The next day, I headed out to Jack's Music in Red Bank (still in operation, by the way), looking forward to taking this slice of prime vinyl home. And I learned it was out of print... Released just 6 years earlier, and it was already out of print! I called all the local record stores.... no luck. And so began my quest.

Over the next 20 years or so, I continued to hunt for this record. The problem was finding one that hadn't been used as a Frisbee. I found two people who had copies; they would not sell them, but let me tape them. Well, that was a start, but I wanted my own! As time passed, I tracked down and bought three different LP copies: one at a flea market, one from a vintage record shop in California, another on eBay. All are damaged to some degree.

When Internet shopping came along, and Amazon, CD Now, and Tower Records began selling music on the Web, I started a new ritual. Every couple of months, I'd search for a CD release of "Gandharva." I was not optimistic. I mean, come on, this record was beyond obscure when it was new; what publisher would release it on CD?

But one day.... there it was at Amazon.... And not only Gandharva. Warner Brothers had bundled two Beaver and Krause recordings together: Gandharva and In a Wild Sanctuary. I must have stared at the computer screen for five minutes with a big dumb smile on my face. Out came the credit card....

What to say about this music? I'm not a big fan of In a Wild Sanctuary (CD tracks 1 through 9). It's neat, it's creative, it's very `60s, but it's not really anything I care to listen to most of the time. Tracks 10 through 14 are the original Side One of Gandharva, and now we're in different territory. This is the sort of stuff that originally attracted me to B&K: very skillful early synthesizer work, great combinations of vocals and moody musical effects, all somehow wrapped up in a blues foundation. Great stuff.

But for me, this CD is all about the last 5 tracks: the original Side Two of Gandharva. If you buy this CD, lock the doors, close the curtains, shut off your phone, sit quietly for a few minutes, and then begin with track 15. You will hear what is really an instrumental suite in 5 sections. It was entirely recorded in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, and the acoustic qualities of that space lend an amazing sound to this music. If you listen with full attention, and if you have any imagination at all, this music will carry you to an amazing place.

Yeah, I think it's a work of genius. Just the idea of teaming up great jazz and blues musicians playing sax, organ, harp, guitar, and flute, and recording in a church, took amazing insight in 1971. And the music these guys composed is just, well... you just have to hear it. (Note that you can preview the tracks with better quality at the iTunes music store).

Now the bad news.... this CD must have been remastered by a very indifferent engineer. The quality is not what it should be. This is the only reason I have not given it 5 stars. So if you can find a clean vinyl copy, buy it. The original vinyl pressing is much brighter, offering far better detail. But get this CD anyway. More people need to hear this amazing music. (I should mention that the quality issue I'm describing is subtle, and will only matter to serious audiophiles. Besides, unless you have a very good turntable, this CD will give you the better listening experience.)

In a small, easily overlooked note on the back of this record, Bernie Krause wrote of Gandharva, "...it's the score from a non-existent film." I often wonder about that film, and I hope to write it some day."